December 14, 2020
Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) affiliate and associate professor of Geography, Holly Gibbs is a co-author on the newly released paper, "Brazil's Amazon Soy Moratorium reduced deforestation." Published in Nature Food, this research investigates the ways in which the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) has impacted deforestation in the Amazon.
The ASM was agreed upon in 2006 and is meant to ensure that soy production in the Amazon only occurs on existing agricultural land and not through deforestation. According to the paper, the ASM has been successful in reducing 84 percent of deforestation and preventing thousands of square kilometers of deforestation in its first 10 years. Additionally, the researchers also found that soy production continued to grow after the ASM was put in place. Read more.
Photo: LISA RAUSCH